Tune du Jour: “Twist and Crawl” – Original Artist
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: The Acoustic Theatre vs. Reel Big Fish vs. Skindred
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Everybody’s Dressin’ Funny … Cover Me Impressed!
The Original
The English Beat:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
The Acoustic Theatre vs. Reel Big Fish vs. Skindred
The Acoustic Theatre:
Reel Big Fish:
Skindred:
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On?!!?
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
Great song, great album, great band. The acoustic version is pleasant, but not memorable. Skindred does a great version, no doubt. But Reel Big Fish really nail this one. Most excellent.
My gosh. I have to admit that every word and sentiment expressed by Mr. Plotnick above is exactly how I feel as well. Now I am worried.
And I was so nondescript! You’re just getting lazy, Zaner.
Sometimes I post before reading previous comments (as yesterday), other times I check out feedback first. I was gonna write essentially what Dr. Plotnick wrote, so I thought, “Oh no! I’ll be sued for plagiarism.” Then Doug seconded the motion…
About thirty-five years ago, while living in the dorms, I took a gamble and bought The English Beat’s “I Just Can’t Stop It”. I ended up loving the entire album, and the happy up-tempo sound made it particularly popular at parties.
As most of you will know, The “English” Beat are known simply as “The Beat” in their native U.K., and were compelled to use the name in the U.S. to distinguish them from Paul Collins’ band “The Beat”.
Surprisingly, perhaps even amazingly, Paul Collins’ Beat continues to tour all over the world to this day. There was a very small local venue in my neighborhood that hosted Paul Collins’ Beat in 2012, ’13 and ’14. Tiny place to begin with, I heard attendance was disappointing. Yet I checked his site, and he still plays all over N. America, Europe, as well as recent visits to Australia and China. I don’t know how he can afford to pull it off.
The English Beat still tour, and are due to play here next month.
I saw The English Beat here in NY last year, in a small intimate club. They were great. It did feel a little bit like an “oldies” act, but it was never cheesy, and they really played well, voices all nicely intact.
I enjoyed all three versions but will have to disagree with the mob’s choice thus far. There is no debating that Reel Big Fish knocked out a great version. I had real trouble picking between RBF and Skindred. In the end, in a close one, I went with Skindred simply because they added some of their own, tearing through the tune! Though I prefer the pace that The English Beat employed, which was replicated by Reel Big Fish, I like that Skindred was able to speed up the tempo while still throwing down an excellent version. I also feel strongly that anytime “ziggedy-diggety-ding-dong” appears in a song that it should be singled out as an exemplary effort!
I listened to Kindred’s version first and really liked it, then on to Reel Big Fish and they nailed it. It could be argued that it is too similar in style to English Beat but the other versions aren’t better. The Acoustic Theatre’s attempt sounded good but more like a demo they hadn’t completely worked out.